[Sermon from Hyde Park Vineyard Church, Chicago, Illinois]

Good morning! It is great to be here with you this morning. My name is Insoo Kim, and until about 3 months ago, I was the assistant pastor here at the Hyde Park Vineyard Church. Through some crazy circumstances and the providence of God, we are now living in Columbus, Ohio, and serving at the Vineyard church there in Columbus.

And as it turns out, your new assistant pastor, Eben and his family, are from Columbus and used to be a part of the church that we are now a part of. Eben probably doesn’t know this, but after Rand told me about interviewing him for the position, I asked everyone I knew there about him, and they had only wonderful things to say about him and his family. So, I am really happy for them to be here. And I’m sure he’ll do a much better job than I did. God always provides!

Well, just to catch up together a little bit, a lot has happened in these last three months. Of course, we moved our family of three to Columbus, and have since become a family of four, with Isaiah, the newest addition to our family. He is wonderful. And Elliot is an amazing big brother. As a new family of four, we are trying to get used to Ohio. Really, we are slowly learning to love Columbus, but honestly, there is just not much of anything to do in Columbus besides eating and shopping. But here are some interesting and impressive facts about Columbus that you may not have known:

• The American Federation of Labor was founded in Columbus.
• Seven United States presidents were born in Ohio.
• Ohio gave America its first hot dog in 1900.
• 50% of the U.S. population lives within a 500 mile radius of Columbus.
• It is where the Keaton familly lived, from the 80s TV show, Family Ties.
• There are most fast-food restaurants per capita than any other U.S. city.

So we really missed Chicago a lot! No, it really has been great being in Columbus. Really! And of course, we are slowly settling into a new church and slowly making friends. We are learning a lot and are really excited about what God has in store for us at the end of this season.

We have been keeping up with all the Hyde Park Vineyard news and all the staff transition. And it really is evident that God is in control and he has blessed this church with a bunch of new people to replace those of us who have transitioned onto other things. I really love and appreciate you and this church and Rand, and am really thankful for this opportunity to share this brief time we have together this morning. So thank you so much for having me!

Last week, Rand started a new series called, “Courage, Sin, and the Holy Spirit” studying through the books of 1 and 2 Samuel. Last week, Rand taught from the beginning of the book of 1 Samuel and introduced a woman named Hannah, who was not able to have a child. So she cries out to God in this incredible prayer in which she says that if God will give her a child, she would give him back to God as an offering. God, moved by Hannah’s prayer grants her a son, who she names Samuel, meaning “heard of God” or “God has heard” as a testimony to what God has done. So when Samuel was weaned, Hannah took him to the priest, Eli, and there he began to serve God. He was no longer her son, but a servant of God. And Eli took him under his wing and trained him and mentored him in what it means to serve in the house of God. There is a passage in the New Testament that describes Jesus growing up this way: “he continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with men.” And these are same words that are used to describe Samuel in chapter 2. Rand talked about learning to hear and respond to the voice of God in faith, and the courage that Hannah demonstrated in her prayer and also in her offering of Samuel to God.

Today, we are going to jump ahead a few chapters to chapter 7. Here we find that Samuel has taken over Eli’s job and now he is the leader of the people of Israel serving as priest, prophet, and judge. This Israel that Samuel has taken over the leadership of is in a very sad condition. There is deep corruption of morality in every corner of society, people are worshiping false idols and foreign gods, people have turned from God in every way. In chapter 4, they got their butts kicked by the Philistines. Israel had the ark, which represented the very presence of God in their midst. And because they had this ark, they thought they could win this battle. But God was nowhere to be found. You see, God had lifted his hands of blessing and protection off from the people of Israel because of their sin. They lose the battle. And to make the situation even worse, the Philistines not only kick their butts in battle, but they also take the ark from them. The ark is eventually returned because God does this awesome thing. In chapter 5, the Philistines take the ark and place it next to Dagon, their pagan god, in a temple. And when the people wake up next morning, they look inside the temple, and this idol of Dagon is on the ground, on his face, bowing down before the ark of God. Isn’t that awesome?!? The people see this and they assume that it was some sort of an accident and so they stand Dagon back up again and place him next to the ark of God. The next morning, they go back to this temple, and again, Dagon is on his face, bowing before the ark of God. But this time, his head and his hands were broken off and it is just lying there. That is so cool! So everyone begins to fear the God of the people of Israel. Nobody wants this ark anywhere near where they live, and it is eventually returned to the people of Israel. But still things are not the way they ought to be. The picture is quite bleak. That’s the quick overview of the last few chapters in a nutshell. So we come to today’s passage, chapter 7 of 1 Samuel. It’s not a very long chapter, so why don’t we read this passage together. And, just as a sign of our honoring the word of God, won’t you please stand with me as we read.

1 Samuel 7:1-17
1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the LORD. They took it to Abinadab's house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the LORD. 2 It was a long time, twenty years in all, that the ark remained at Kiriath Jearim, and all the people of Israel mourned and sought after the LORD. 3 And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines." 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only. 5 Then Samuel said, "Assemble all Israel at Mizpah and I will intercede with the LORD for you." 6 When they had assembled at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the LORD. On that day they fasted and there they confessed, "We have sinned against the LORD." And Samuel was leader of Israel at Mizpah. 7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. And when the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, "Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines." 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and offered it up as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel's behalf, and the LORD answered him. 10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Car. 12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us." 13 So the Philistines were subdued and did not invade Israelite territory again. Throughout Samuel's lifetime, the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines. 14 The towns from Ekron to Gath that the Philistines had captured from Israel were restored to her, and Israel delivered the neighboring territory from the power of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites. 15 Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his life. 16 From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places. 17 But he always went back to Ramah, where his home was, and there he also judged Israel. And he built an altar there to the LORD.

LAMENT AND MOURN YOUR SINS (v. 2)
Chapter 7 opens in a very hard place, by showing us that Israel is sad, without hope, and without joy. We saw that the ark was returned to them by mighty hand of God, but what should have been a joyous occasion for celebration, is nothing more than a reminder of their destitute condition. The events that had just played out before their eyes were a direct result of their sins. From the very top to bottom, Israel was infused in sin. And now, they have come to the very end of their rope. All joy is lost. All hope is gone. Life has lost all meaning. And we read in verse 2 that all the people of Israel mourned. And rightly so! They are having to come face-to-face with some very ugly truths about themselves and their lives. They are having to confront the realities of the dark seeds they have sown into their lives. They are having to come to grips with the sin in their lives and they are mourning.

If I could ask you a rather difficult question this morning: How is your sin life? How is your lust life? How is your worry life? How is your greed life? How is your sin life today? Have you, recently, come to grips with some truths in your life? Is God shedding light in some dark places in your life recently? Where are you today? Where are you in your spiritual journey today?

In life, we often find ourselves in situations and circumstances which we just didn’t plan on. We don’t know exactly when or how it started, but somehow, the path that we took, the decisions that we made, the mistakes that we have made, have led us into some dark places in our lives. And maybe some of you here today are in that place in your life. And as you examine your life, which you don’t do very often because it is just too hard face reality, you see that you’ve lost your hope. You’ve lost your passion. You’ve lost the vision that God gave you when you were a child. And if you were to honestly look at your life, you would say that this is not where you had hoped you would be today. And if that is you, you are in a great place because there is always hope in God! Always! Always! Always!

RETURN TO THE LORD WITH FASTING AND CONFESSING (vv. 3-6)
There is always hope in God. No matter where you were yesterday, no matter where you are this morning, there is always hope! Always! The Bible tells us that God’s anger lasts but for a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime. There is always forgiveness in God. There is always restoration in God. There is always a new beginning in God. And sometimes, he lets us get to the very end of ourselves so that we will begin to look to Him and nothing else. And this is exactly what we see here in verses 3-6. Samuel tells the people of Israel to remove the foreign gods from their lives. And this is a very important point. He says that if you are really returning to God with all of your heart, then make an external demonstration by removing the idols from your life. If what is happening internally is really true, then let it show externally, and place God at the very center of your life, both inside and out.

I think there are many people who talk about how their faith, their Christian faith, is their own thing and that they just worship alone at home and they don’t really need community. But I’m sorry, that is just wrong! Christian faith is a personal faith, but it is never private. There is no such thing as a private Christian. A Christian without a church family is a contradiction. God created each and every one of us with a longing for healthy relationships – relationship with Him and relationship with others. Our faith is meant to be lived out in community, in the open, in the place where people can see. The very sign of your internal faith in Jesus should have external indicators. The Bible uses the analogy of a fruit tree: A good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit. That’s it. Plain and simple. You can talk all you want about your private faith, but if there is no outward sign of that faith, than the Bible would say that you need to evaluate your faith. True repentance, true turning back to God, is both an internal and an external thing. And if you want to really begin to grow as a Christian, try giving away to others what God has given you. This is the paradox of the Christian life: The more you give away life, the more you find life. The more you hold on, the less you have. But the more you give away, the more you will find.

So the Israelites remove their idols. They fast and confess, “We have sinned against the Lord.” What are the idols in your life that you need to remove? What do you need to fast from? What do you need to confess this morning?

BE COURAGEOUS BECAUSE GOD IS ON YOUR SIDE (vv. 7-11)
The Israelites return to God by removing their idols, and by fasting and confession. You would think that that should be the end of the story, but it is not. Because then the real test of their faith comes in verses 7-11. The Philistines take this opportunity where the Israelites have gathered in Mizpah to attack them. They figure, “Hey we beat them before. Why not do it again?”

Two different battles involving the same characters and very similar circumstances, but the outcome could not be any more different. Two very similar battles fought with very different results. What changed? What made them so very different?

The answer is in verse 9. We read that the Israelites cry out to God in prayer and they ask Samuel to intercede on their behalf, and we read these powerful words in verse 9: “And the Lord answered them.” This is the difference maker. The intervention of God in any situation makes all the difference in the world. No matter what painful situations you may have experienced in your past, even if you are going through that very same thing right now, you can know for sure that things can be different if you will simply allow God to enter into that story. What battles are you fighting today? Maybe you have been struggling with pornography for a long, long time, and you feel like you will never be free from that. But that is not true. Allow God to enter into your story! Maybe you have been struggling with your self image, and it comes back again and again to haunt you, and you feel like it will never change. Won’t you allow God to enter into your story? Maybe you are in a relationship that is making you comprise in ways that you never thought you would, and you just don’t see a way out. Won’t you allow God to enter into your story? Because when God enters the story, it makes all the difference in the world!

In addition to praying, Samuel does something quite extraordinary. As the enemy is quickly approaching, Samuel, calmly and purposefully brings an offering to the Lord. A sacrifice of burnt offering, we read in verses 9-10. I think this act reinforces what we are talking about here today. As the world around him is falling to pieces, Samuel chooses to keep his eyes on God and not on himself or his situation. Samuel almost has this tunnel vision here. When he should be losing it, something rises up in him – a faith, a confidence, a hope, a courage – that enables him to see the bigger picture of God in this story. And again, when God enters the story, everything changes. When God enters the story, it makes all the difference in the world! Two very similar battles. Two very different results. When God enters the story, it makes all the difference in the world!

What is your story? What do you need courage for today? If you knew that God was in your story, what would you attempt tomorrow that you wouldn’t otherwise?

REMEMBER WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE (v. 12)
Now the war is over. The victory has been won. But the story does not end there. Something remains. We read in verse 12 that Samuel sets up a memorial stone:

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far has the LORD helped us."

I’ve shared this in the past, but we as Christians suck at remembering what God has done for us. And the results of forgetting are catastrophic in the life of a Christian. For some reason, we do a much better job remembering how someone has hurt us, or failed us, or how God didn’t come through in some circumstance like we had hoped for. But we too easily forget what He has done for us. And God knows this about us, how we easily forget who he is and what he has done. So he commands throughout the Bible, again and again, “Remember! Remember! Remember who I am! Remember what I have done for you! Remember how I brought you out of Egypt! Remember how I split open the red sea for you to cross on dry ground! Remember how I destroyed your enemies! Remember! Remember! Remember!” And we forget!

So, we see throughout the Bible, this act of putting up memorial stones to God. They would even choose the names for the places where they lived to help them remember. So when God calls out to Abraham right before he is about to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and provides a ram its place, Abraham calls that place “The Lord Will Provide.” Abraham remembers. Hagar, the maidservant of Abraham and Sarah, when she was out in the desert with her child, Ishmael, waiting just to die, God reveals himself to her there. So she calls the well there, “Beer Lahai Roi” meaning, “The Well of the Living One Who Sees Me.” Rahab remembers. And when Jacob wrestles with God and gets his blessing, the place where his name is changed from Jacob to Israel, he calls that place, “Peniel” meaning, “The Face of God.” Jacob remembers. Even the communion we took this morning is that. Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” So we remember what he did on the cross. How he delivered us from death by shedding his blood there on the cross, and that our lives will never be the same again. We remember. And here in verse 12, we see Samuel doing this same thing. Nothing fancy. Nothing all that interesting. He puts up a stone and he gives it a name, “Ebenezer.” “Thus far has the Lord helped us.”

Today, right now, if you take just a minute to look back at your life, I bet you can see all the ways that God has come through for you in your life. In your finances, in your health, in your relationships, in your career, in your studies, how God has proven himself to you again and again and again. You need to put up a memorial stone to remember these significant times. And you need to tell your story to your children, your friends, your relatives, people in your workplace, in school. You need to write them down. When life gets hard, and it will, you need to look at that picture you took 10, 20, 50 years ago, of some place, some item, or some person that you can look at and say, “I remember. God has been faithful and he will always be faithful. Thus far has the Lord helped us. And he will continue to do so. I don’t feel like things are good. I don’t feel hopeful. I don’t feel like things will get better. But, I see this memorial stone, and I remember how God has come through for me in the past. So, today, right here, in the midst of the storm, I choose to put my trust in God. I will let God enter into my story!” Get in the habit of putting up Ebenezers in your life.


JESUS, THE ULTIMATE EBENEZER
For some of you here today, maybe this wasn’t where you wanted to be this morning. Maybe you were dragged here by your friend or family and wasn’t really sure what to expect. Maybe this whole talk about Jesus and the Christian faith is all very new and foreign to you. But you are sitting in your seat right now, and God is doing something in your heart that you don’t understand, that you weren’t expecting. Something is stirring in your heart now, and you may be saying to yourself, “I don’t understand all that is happening, but I just have this deep desire to let God enter into my life, into my story.” If that is you, I am going to ask you to stand in just a minute and I just want to pray with you and bless you, and encourage you to set up your stone of remembrance this morning, right here, right now. Your Ebenezer stone. And I am not talking about just “a help or a helper” but “The Helper”, the Ultimate Ebenezer, Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray.

Good morning everyone! Welcome to the Hyde Park Vineyard Church this morning. My name is Insoo Kim and I am the assistant pastor here at the Vineyard and I am really excited to be here with you this morning. If this is your first time with us, we are thrilled that you are here.

Today is the last teaching from the 4-part series that we have been doing entitled, “Whose House Are You Building?” We have been studying the book of Haggai to learn how to have a spiritual makeover of our finances.

On week 1, Rand taught on the importance of budgeting and how we are to put God first. On week 2, Karen taught about what we need to do to remain faithful to a lifestyle that keeps God first in our lives. Then last week, Rand shared about the blessing that comes to those who obey God, even through the most difficult circumstances and decisions. God honors those who obey. And so we now come to today’s teaching, the last one in this series.

It has been our desire in this teaching series to give a Biblical perspective on how we should think about money. Not just how we should use money or what we can do with money, but what can we learn about God and also about ourselves in what he has to say to us about money. As we read the words in the book of Haggai, as they talk about rebuilding the temple of God, what is God trying to teach us about himself and what is God trying to teach us about how we are to live our lives? We have been talking about money, but in many ways, talking about money is one sure way to address our heart condition, isn’t it? And the last 4 verses of the book of Haggai, which is the part that we will be covering today, really drives home this point.

And before we read the passage for today, very quickly, let me give you an overview of the book of Haggai. The Jews have been in exile in Babylon. King Cyrus allows the Jews to go back to their land, Jerusalem, which is now a land that has been totally devastated, and he give them the opportunity to rebuild the temple of the Lord. And this was very important because the temple was the focal point of the Jewish community. It represented the presence of God among them as a people. So, some of the Jews return to Jerusalem and they immediately begin to work on the temple. But they face strong opposition, particularly from the Samaritans, so that they halt building the temple of the Lord. They are in this weird limbo. They must have truly thought that God was ushering in a new era for the Jewish people, but their experience in Jerusalem tells an altogether different story. They become complacent. They neglect work on the temple of the Lord. And it is right in the middle of this that God speaks to Haggai. Through Haggai, God admonishes his people for their complacency. Through Haggai, God tells them to rebuild the temple, a temple that will be greater that even Solomon’s temple, a temple that will be filled with the Glory of God. And through Haggai, God calls his people to holiness and obedience. And so we come to the last part of the book of Haggai.

Let’s read the passage together. Haggai chapter 2, verses 20-23. And if you wouldn’t mind, I would like this read this passage out loud together as a congregation. If you don’t have a Bible, please share one with a neighbor or you can also look at the screen. And just as a sign of our honoring God in this word, please stand as we read the passage together.

20 The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 "Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. 23 " 'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty."

Let’s pray and invite the Holy Spirit to prepare our hearts for what he wants to teach us today. Let’s pray.

20 The word of the LORD came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month:
This section of the book starts just like the beginning of chapter one. The word of the Lord comes to Haggai. And this happens to be the second time on the same day that God speaks to Haggai. The first time was in chapter 2, verse 10. And we see from verse 18 that this was the same day in which the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid. Remember, this project was on hold for some 16 years because of heavy opposition, and now it is finally starting up again. The foundation has been laid. The word of the Lord comes to his prophet Haggai. Hope begins to stir in the souls of the people who have grown tired, weary, and disillusioned. They have been waiting for the kingdom to be established and it is starting right before their eyes. This dream is beginning to be realized in the establishment of this glorious temple. The foundation has been laid. They begin to dream and hope as they once did before, not so unlike the time when they were being led out of Egypt by Moses. They begin to remember how God split the Red sea open so that his people, his chosen people, were able to walk through the sea and flee from their enemies. The foundation of the temple has been laid. They begin to let themselves hope again. They’ve experienced a lot of heartaches and pain and suffering. But they begin to hope again.

WHERE DO YOU NEED TO HOPE AGAIN?
And this is an experience not simply for the people we are studying in the book of Haggai. This is real today as it was then. I bet it is true for many of us here today. Maybe for some of you, you’ve lost hope and faith in God, so much so that, you have lost your ability to trust in him to provide for all of your needs. Maybe you don’t believe that God will provide for your finances? Maybe you don’t believe that God will keep you safe and out of harm’s way. Maybe your parents and family and friends have failed to come through for you when you needed them the most. And you find it absolutely impossible to believe that there is a God who will come through for you when the people that you trust in your life fail you again and again. So, you’ve gotten very good at taking care of yourself. You’ve become self-sufficient. You’ve put on a tough skin and you’ve vowed to yourself that you will never be in need again. Ever. I know there are some of you here today who have done exact that. You’ve said in your heart, “I will never trust God again!” But for many of us, we never really went through this intentional dismissal of God. It is something that just happened slowly and gradually over time, and so you can’t really pinpoint a specific time in your life when you’ve made this decision not to trust in God anymore. And one easy way to see if you did in fact make that decision in your heart about not trusting God anymore is to check your attitude about money. What is your attitude about money? How do you think about money? How do you feel about money? Do you constantly find yourself looking to your savings account for security? Do you constantly worry about how you will save enough for your retirement or your wedding or your house or your car? How does having money or not having money make you feel? When someone asks you how you are doing, is money usually a factor in how you answer that question?

As I’ve mentioned earlier, talking about money is really a great way to bring out the true heart of a person. I’m sure you’ve heard it said before that your calendar and your checkbook are the real indicators of where your heart truly is. No matter what you say you care about, ultimately, it is where you spend your money and your time, that’s where your heart is. And I believe that’s why Jesus taught again and again about money. That’s why there is more teaching in the Bible about money than just about any other topic. To talk about money, in essence, is to talk about the true condition of one’s heart. Please keep a finger on the book of Haggai, and turn with me to the book of Matthew, chapter 19, verses 16-26:

16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?" 17"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." 18"Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" 20"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?" 21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" 26Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

This rich young man comes to Jesus. And as far as we can tell from Scripture, he seems to be a good guy with good motives. But this is a very interesting interaction. He comes to Jesus and asks him a question that most of us have also asked at one point in our lives. How do you get to heaven? Jesus gives, what I believe, is an interesting answer. He tells the man that if he wants eternal life that he should obey the 10 commandments. His answer should make us think a little bit here. The cornerstone of Christianity is not works but faith. One of the most common sayings of Jesus in his ministry was “your faith has saved you!” The apostles, the church father, the creeds of the Christian faith, all say the same thing. We are saved not by what we do but what we believe. John 3:16. But Jesus says to this man, obey the commands. Jesus is up to something here. And the man says I already do that. Then Jesus, going for the heart issue of the man and tells him that he should sell everything and give it to the poor. And the rich man hears this, and walks away very sad because he had great wealth.

Like many of us do, this rich young man, sought salvation through works. If I do these good things, and I keep these commands, and if I simply do not make any bad decisions, shouldn’t that be enough? I am a good person? Shouldn’t that be enough? But God says, I don’t care so much about your actions, but I am more concerned about the heart from which those actions are derived. What God wants is not perfection and sinlessness, because we can never live up to that standard. But what God desires is surrender and submission. God is not after a part of our lives or a part of our hearts. God wants it all.

When the rich man wanted simply to give a part of his life, a part of his wealth, a part of his worship and a part of his loyalty, God says, “I want it all! Not just a part of you, but all of you!” And the way that Jesus was able to get to the heart issue with this man was by talking about money.

So, let me ask all of you here this morning. What do you really think about money? How does it make you feel to have it? How does it make you feel not to have it? And if Jesus were to come and ask you to give it all away for the sake of the poor, for the sake of the kingdom, will you be able to lay it all down? And that is the million dollar question, isn’t it. You say, as a Christian, that you will take up your cross to follow Jesus. You say, as a Christian, that you will even lay down your life for the sake of the Gospel. But when God asks you to give 10% to the church, but when God asks you to give 10 dollars to that person on the street that you walk by every morning on your way to work, but when God asks you to give $100 to a friend in need, what is your first response? If Jesus were to ask you, like he asked the rich young man, would you be able to give it all away?

We all have a comfort zone that we live in. Over time, we give ourselves parameters in how we live our lives and how we make our decisions about our money. And my challenge for all of us today is that our comfort zone needs to get a little bit wider and deeper. And for some of you, a lot wider and a lot deeper.

Let’s go back to our passage. So, the word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time and this is what he says. Let’s go to verse 21.

21 "Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I will shake the heavens and the earth.
The prophecy of this section, unlike the others in the book, is directly for Zerubbabel, who is the governor of Judah. In fact, Zerubbabel is not only the object of the exhortation of God, but he is the central figure of it. He is not just the recipient of this word of the Lord but he is the very focal point of its message. And what exactly does God tell Zerubbabel? He tells him that first of all, he “will shake the heavens and the earth.” Literally, God will “cause to tremble” and “shake violently” the heavens and the earth. We saw these very same words back in verse 6. We also see this referenced in the New Testament. We read in Hebrews 12:26 and it says this: “At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, ‘Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.’”

And so here is what God is telling Zerubbabel. God is about to do something. And whatever it is that he is going to do, it will not be hidden, and it will not go unnoticed. But this thing that God is about to do will be so huge in scope and magnitude that the entire universe will feel its affects. A powerful God is about to do a very powerful thing. Something only that God can do. And here is what it will look like. Let’s go to verse 22.

22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother.
The Lord is going to annihilate the powers of the universe. The verb “overthrow” is used twice in this verse. It is the common language used in prophecies of doom. It is the same verb that is used in describing what happened in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as we see in Genesis 19. So what God did to Sodom and Gomorrah, God will do to all the royal thrones and powers and kingdoms.

Throughout history the kingdoms of the nations have executed their might by way of military feats in conquering other nations, including the people of Israel. And one of the ways in which the military power is depicted in is in the image of the chariots and their drivers, horses and their riders. And God says that he will overthrow these military might, these chariot and their riders, these horses and their riders. And as God is talking about what he will do to these military powerhouses, in the back of their minds, they must have been thinking about what happened in Exodus as God delivered the people of Israel from the powerful Egyptians, their chariots, their horses, and their armies.

And we see in this verse that God doesn’t seem to mind that his people are small in number and completely defenseless. God says, this is something I will do. I will act on your behalf.

So again, let me ask you again, this morning, have you lost your ability to trust in God? Is your trust in the kingdoms of this world? Is your trust in Obama or Clinton or McCain? Or is your trust in God? Do you trust God?

23 " 'On that day,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,' declares the LORD, 'and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,' declares the LORD Almighty."
Okay. This is an important verse. Not that the other ones weren’t important. But this one is really, really important. So please stay with me! This verse begins with “on that day” and it is followed by 3 repetitions of the statement, “declares the Lord Almighty.” And when you read that, you should be like, “Hey, I think there is something really important here.” And there is! “On that day” this simple statement really changes the tone of this prophecy. It moves from being something that is merely historical in nature and begins to move into something a lot bigger than even history. In other words, what God is talking about in this prophecy extends far beyond Zerubbabel. In fact, God is using this specific situation, this specific group of people, and this specific time period we see in Haggai, to reveal something about not just that day, but the day of all days. The Day of Days! The Day of the Lord!

Hold that thought. We will come back to more of that in just a few minutes, but let’s look at what the rest of the verse says. In verse 23, God calls Zerubbabel his “servant” which is quite significant because this is one of the most common ways in which God referred to David, the lineage through whom the messiah is supposed to come. That is very important. And the figure of a “servant” has in it the idea of a “confidant,” someone who remains close to the king, someone who knows the heart and mind and the wishes of the king. And God calls Zerubbabel his “servant.”

He goes on to say that “I will make you like a signet ring.” The signet ring, or the seal was a symbol of authority. A signet ring was something that was so precious and important that it was usually worn on the right hand or even worn on a chain around the neck to make sure that it is protected against theft. All official documents were authorized by the king’s seal or his signet ring. And Zerubbabel will be God’s signet ring.

This verse began with the statement, “on that day”, referring not merely to the historical context in which we read this story in the book of Haggai, but God begins to give us a glimpse of what is to come on the Day of Days when a divine king, from the lineage of David, will come in all his glory and splendor. He will come and violently shake the heavens and the earth. He will overthrow kingdoms and foreign powers and everything else that stands against his heavenly kingdom. He will overthrow chariots and their drivers, and the horses and their riders. On that day, the Day of the Lord, he will be revealed as the signet ring of God, the very power and authority of the Lord Almighty. And he will be revealed at the promised one. The chosen one. And his name is Jesus! His name is Jesus!

Please turn to Philippians 2:9-11 and let’s read these verses together.

9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

THERE WILL COME A DAY
The splendor of the new temple and the glory of the throne of David will be fulfilled in Christ! There will come a day, that day of days, when every knee will bow in heaven and on earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. There will come a day. That is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. There will come a day. The Day of Days! The Day of the Lord. It is the day of reckoning.

There will come a day when everyone will give an account of how he has lived his life. There will come a day when everything done in the darkness will be revealed in the light of Christ. There will come a day when to whom much has been given, from him much will be demanded.

So let me ask you, how should this affect the choices that we make regarding our finances? How should this affect the house that we are building?

You know the Bible says that everyone is responsible for not merely our actions but also our knowledge. James 4:17 says, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.” In other words, we are responsible for our knowledge and what we choose to do or not to do with that knowledge that we have been given. And with the internet and 24-hour news, we have more information now at our disposal then ever before. So does it matter, in light of this passage, that we know about atrocities occurring in Darfur and that we don’t do anything about it? Or does it matter that we know about child sex trades happening all over the world and we don’t do anything about it? Or let me bring it a little closer to home. Does it matter that there are poor and homeless living in Hyde Park and we don’t do anything about it? To not act of our ignorance is one thing. But for us to be in complete knowledge of these things and not do anything about it is sin and we will be held responsible on that Day of Days.

And the way in which we respond will be different. Some of us will be in the front lines of these very battles that entangle humanity. That will be your calling. That will be your ministry. And I bet some of your hearts are beating really fast right now because you know that is exactly what God is calling you to. And if that is you, I want to pray for you in a little bit. But that is not for everyone. Others of us, the way in which we are called to act is through prayer, intercession, through giving of finances to support the very people who are in the front lines.

You and I have been blessed to be a blessing. We have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams. But we have been blessed for a purpose. We have been blessed not for ourselves, but so that we may be a blessing to others in need. So, church, in talking about a spiritual makeover for our your finances, as one pastor admonished, make as much money as you can, so that you can save as much as you can, and so that you can give away as much as you can. And in order to live this way, I think you need a new framework on what Christian maturity looks like, what spiritual maturity looks like.

A spiritual infant says, “This is mine”
A spiritual teen says, “This is ours”
A spiritual adult says, “This is God’s”
A spiritual sage says, “Everything belongs to God, including me.”

OFFERING FOR PUERTO RICO MISSIONS
When we started this series four weeks ago, we told you that today, this morning, we were going to be taking a special offering, above and beyond our normal offering, specifically for outreach and ministry to the poor in Puerto Rico. There is a team of about 16 people from our church who will be ministering in Puerto Rico in March. They will be partnering with a local Vineyard church there and doing a lot of servant evangelism and ministry to the poor. And the offering that we are taking this morning is specifically for this purpose. So, we are going to be passing the offering basket around and you can either drop in your offering for the Puerto Rico mission or if you forgot to bring it this morning, you can also drop in your pledge and bring it with you next week.

CONCLUSION
So, church, whose house are you building? Are you neglecting the house of the Lord while you are living in paneled houses? Have you been so self-absorbed, that you do not see the need in others? Or are you building the house of the Lord. Are the decisions that you make about your life, including the finances, honoring to God? Are you a spiritual infant, a teen, and adult? Or are you a sage? Whose house are you building? Church, may we together build the house of the Lord!

Let’s all stand and pray together.

[A Devotional for Chicago Area Worship Leaders | Evanston Vineyard Church, Evanston, Illinois]

My name is Insoo Kim and I am the assistant pastor at the Hyde Park Vineyard Church where I have been serving for the last 3 years. And this is a very special gathering for me because this will probably be the last time that I will be joining you guys at these events. In March, I will be moving to Ohio to work for Rich Nathan at the Columbus Vineyard as his research assistant, where I’ll be aiding him in his sermon preparation, book writing, and conference speaking, and whatever other speaking engagements he may have. I am really grateful for all of you guys, your friendship, your encouragement, your prayers. It has been an awesome journey.

This is an awesome group. What an eclectic group, huh? We are people from all different kinds of backgrounds and life experiences, people from different parts of the country and the world, people with amazing stories about encountering God in both big and small ways, people with a deep and profound love for Jesus, and because of this Jesus we are involved in this thing called worship, and because of this Jesus we are gathered here this morning. What an incredible group of people that God has brought together today!

And as I have been preparing for our time together, I have been praying for you. Some of you by name, and others just by heart, because I don’t know all of you here today. I have been praying that God will pour out his great love upon you today. I have been praying that God will stir a new passion for some old dreams that he’s given you many, many years ago. I have been praying that God will meet you today. As we come together to worship him and to seek him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, he does things that we can not do by ourselves, things that only he can do.

So before we continue, let’s bow our heads in prayer and invite the Spirit of God to come and dwell in our midst, to cause our hearts to awaken, to cause our ears to hear his voice, and to cause our eyes to see him here today, right now. Let’s invite the Holy Spirit to come and transform us from the inside out, as only he can. So, let’s pray.

CALL TO REMEMBER
As I have been praying about what to share with you today, I felt God impress on my heart to call us to a time of remembering, to remember who God is and to remember what he has done. So, what I will doing today is to give us a very short devotional and a time of personal and group reflection, looking back at 2007.

In a world that is so consumed with the next big thing, the next big idea, the next big product, the next big revival, the next big church, the next big whatever, I believe that this message today is a good reminder that sometimes we need to take a moment to step back and simply remember our history. Our story. God’s story. I guess you can say that I want us to worship God this morning simply by remembering Him.

The ability to remember, to recall, to relive a memory of a moment in history is a powerful thing! And the Bible is full of admonitions to remember. Here are just a few from just the book of Deuteronomy:

Deuteronomy 5:15
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

Deuteronomy 7:18
But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.

Deuteronomy 8:2
Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

Deuteronomy 15:15
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.

And I believe that one of the reasons that God exhorts us so much to remember is because we are very forgetful people. The ability to remember, to recall, to relive a memory of a moment is history is a powerful thing! So let us remember together this morning.

LOOKING BACK AT 2007
It is incredibly difficult to believe that 2007 is almost coming to an end. And it really has flown by hasn’t it? Just to help us remember a little bit, let me share with you some significant events of 2007.

• Microsoft releases Windows Vista
• Mega Millions sets a new world record for the highest lottery jackpot of $370 million.
• South Korea's Ban Ki-Moon becomes the new United Nations Secretary-General, replacing Kofi Annan.
• Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
• Abortion is legalized in Mexico City.
• Virginia Tech massacre results in the death of 32 people making it the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.
• Gordon Brown becomes the new Prime Minister of Britain.
• The San Antonio Spurs sweep the Cleveland Cavaliers to win the 2007 NBA Finals.
• The Boston Red Sox sweep the Colorado Rockies to win the 2007 World Series.
• Bob Barker airs his last episode of The Price is Right

These are some of what has happened around the world. Now, let’s take some time to remember some significant events of 2007 in your world.

QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL REFLECTION
Take about 10 minutes now and write down the answers these two questions on your sheet of paper:

1. What was the highlight of 2007 for you?
2. What was the low point of 2007 for you?

SEASONS OF THE YEAR
Most of you may not know this about me but I was born in Korea. And my family immigrated to the States when I was in 3rd grade. Our family settled in Miami Florida. The elementary school that I attended was majority Hispanic. The junior high school that I attended was majority Caucasian, and the high school that I attended was majority African Americans. So wherever I went to school, I always stood out like a sore thumb, I never quite fit in. And then I came to Chicago for college because, like most teenagers, I wanted to get away as far away from my parents as I possibly could. So I settled in Chicago, finally free from the oppression and the laws of my impossible parents. But while I was definitely free, it was anything but comforting. Because you see, I didn’t realize how stinking cold Chicago gets during winter. And the first winter I was in Chicago, it was like one of the coldest winters ever on the planet, and so I got sick and I had to go out and buy this hideous looking winter coat that covered your entire body, and I basically did not want to leave my dorm ever. It was awful. God was using it to humble my teenage self.

And I have now been in Chicago for almost 13 years and I love it. People ask me all the time, when are you going to go back to Miami. And there are times I really like the idea of going back, usually in the winter time, but part of why I don’t want to go back is because something in my spirit resonates with the changing of the seasons. It’s like, as the weather changes, as the temperatures drops and rises, as the leaves fall to ground, as the snow begins to fall, as the flowers begin to bloom, as the heat rises from the earth again, there is something deep inside of me that resonates with the seasons.

I believe that there is something very spiritual in the changing of the seasons. And I believe that there are seasons in our lives that very much reflect the seasons of the year. That there are seasons in our life that reflects the seasons of the year.

SEASONS OF LIFE
For me, summer is a season of rest and renewal. And I remember as a child it was my absolute favorite season, well, mostly because you didn’t have to go to school right. In the summer, the sun is hot. People are out enjoying themselves. There is a sense of taking a deep breath in, and letting all the worries of life simply fade away.

Fall, for me, is a season of preparation and hard work. This is when school would start back up again. You have to find your rhythm in the daily routines of life. The leaves begin to fall from the trees and the earth begins to prepare for the long winter that is to come. Personally, this is my favorite season of the year.

And then we have winter, a season of death (especially in Chicago). It is a season of hibernation. Winter is marked by a forced slowing down of the rhythm of life, often to a complete halt. For many people, winter is an endless secession of dark nights. Something gets lost. Something dies.

And then we enter the Spring, the season of new beginnings. A season of fruit-bearing. A season of hope. It is when the flowers of the field blossom into life. Spring is that time when what began to die in the fall gives birth to new life. And the gruesome winter that you just went through, makes spring all the more sweeter.

QUESTIONS FOR GROUP INTERACTION
Briefly share both your highlight and the low point in 2007 with the group. And briefly touch on these questions:

1. What kind of a season was 2007? Was it Summer, Fall, Winter, or Spring? Or maybe a combination? Why was it?
2. Briefly share what kind of season you think 2008 will be and why?

CLOSING THOUGHTS
We read in Ecclesiastes 3, these profound words:

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What does the worker gain from his toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. 13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him.

It is my prayer for all of us gathered here this morning that we would keep growing in the discipline of remembering who God is and what he has done.

May 2008 be a year of renewing hope.
May 2008 be a year of recapturing old dreams and visions.
May 2008 be a year of taking great risks to step out if faith to following the voice of God.
May 2008 be a year of learning more about of it means to be a worshiper of God.

Please stand with me as we close in prayer!

Lord we remember you this morning
We remember who you are
We remember what you have already done
We remember your Son, Jesus
We remember the death that he died on the cross
We remember his resurrection
We remember your promise, that you will one day return, and that we will dwell with you forever
So, Lord we wait for you this morning
We wait for you in the silence
We wait for you in hope
Lord we remember you

Amen!

Happy Thanksgiving! I want to welcome all of you again to the Hyde Park Vineyard Church. And if you are joining us for the first time we are really thrilled that you are here today and we would really appreciate if you could take a minute now to fill out the connection card that you will find inside the program and turn it in at the Welcome Table outside of these doors on your way out after the service. The information that we gather from these connection cards will help us to know how we can better serve you. And the nice person at the Welcome Table will give you a free CD of some of our worship music that we sing here at church. I also want to encourage you to check out one of our 10 house groups that meet during the week. We believe that true Christian community happen in the context of these smaller weekly gatherings, where you study the Bible together, pray together, and just do life together. The house groups are listed at the back of the program so please check one out this week.

I hope you all had a wonderful time celebrating Thanksgiving with your family and friends. Thursday afternoon the church had our annual Thanksgiving dinner. The food was awesome and a lot of people from the community came to eat and celebrate with us. It was a great time. And for all of you who pitched in to make food, thank you so much. And as if that wasn’t enough food, just a few hours after the church Thanksgiving dinner, our family had our special Thanksgiving celebration with Angela’s family who drove in from out of town. And on Friday, we all went to downtown to walk around with about 2 or 3 million other people. It was awesome. Not really. But we still had a great time together and I hope you did, too. And we have so much to be thankful for, don’t we? This is the season where there is really so much pressure from all around us to make it about shopping and eating and spending money, but I hope that you will really be able to pause for a moment and thank God for everything that he’s done for you. And I realize that many of you may be going through a very difficult season in your life right now, but even still, every one of us really have so much to be thankful for. So, even now, as we share these few minutes together this morning, let us really thank God for who he is and what he has done. Amen.

For the past 7 Sundays, we have been going through the book of Acts, chapter by chapter, to study what the Bible has to say about the person of the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity, with God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ. Luke writes in chapter one of Acts, that Jesus, after his death and resurrection, he commands his disciples to wait for the Spirit who he will send when he ascends into heaven. And on the day of Pentecost, as the disciples were gathered in the upper room, the Holy Spirit falls upon them in a powerful way. And the disciples, filled with the Holy Spirit, boldly proclaim the good news of Jesus wherever they go, even through rejection, even through humiliation, even through persecution, even through death. Through the greatest of trials and opposition, those filled and emboldened by the Spirit of God are set on fire to live a life that is marked by selfless love, unending hope, and incredible faith and faithfulness, even to their last breath. And today, as we study chapter 8 of the book of Acts you will see the disciples of Jesus continue in their divine journey empowered by the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.

Before we continue, please join me in prayer, and let’s invite the Holy Spirit to come into this room and transform us from the inside out, to fill us anew with his Spirit, so that we too, may live like these disciples that we are reading about in the book of Acts. Let’s pray.

Please turn your Bible to Acts chapter 8. We have a lot of awesome stuff to cover today, so let’s get started right away. We are going to take it section by section, so let’s read verses 1-8 of Acts chapter 8. If you don’t have a Bible, please share one with someone next to you or you can grab a Bible by the back of the auditorium.

VERSES 1-8 (PERSECUTION AND THE RESPONSE OF THE FAITHFUL)
Last week, in chapter 7, the main character of the story was a man named Stephen, who Luke describes as someone who was filled with the Holy Spirit. We saw him courageously and fearlessly proclaim the message of Jesus Christ before the Sanhedrin. But those who heard Stephen’s speech could not receive this message of salvation and so they angrily drag him out of the city and stone him to death. And as they are stoning him, this courageous man of God prays this incredible prayer: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And after he had said this prayer, he breathed his last breath and died. What an incredible story. What an incredible man.

In chapter 7, we were also introduced to a man named Saul for the first time, and we learned that those who were stoning Stephen would put their clothes by the feet of this Saul so that they won’t get dirty from Stephen’s blood. And chapter 8 begins with this very same man and it says Saul was there giving approval to Stephen’s death. You will hear a lot more about Saul next week, but let me just say this for now: Even the greatest enemies of the Gospel are not beyond the grace and mercy of God. Even those who vocally and violently oppose the Gospel are not beyond the grace and mercy of God. And often, these people, like Saul, when they encounter the living God, are the ones who often become the greatest of followers. Do you know someone like Saul? Someone who seems so far away from God? Someone who seems beyond the reach of God? Let me encourage you to pray for him, pray for her. Who knows what can happen simply because you prayed?

Going back to our story, even as the Christians were being kicked out of their communities, beaten up, thrown into prisons, and even killed, we read in verse 4 that these believers preached the word of God wherever they went because they were filled with the Holy Spirit. And this is the story of Acts. This is the story of the birth of the church, a story of a group of ordinary people who are filled with the Holy Spirit, and suddenly they are emboldened and inspired to preach the word of God wherever they go. Even through the trials and tribulations, and even through persecution and death, these Christians never stopped preaching the word of God. Ordinary people living extraordinary lives through the Holy Spirit so for the glory of God. This is the story of Acts. And this is our story. Church, this is our legacy. We are ordinary people who are called to live extraordinary lives through the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.

INTRODUCTION TO PHILIP
And in Acts 8 we read about one such ordinary person, and his name is Philip. He was introduced a few chapters earlier as one of the seven people who were chosen by the apostles for the great task of caring for and ministering to the widows in the church. Philip was an evangelist, meaning that he was someone who had great love for people who have not yet come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, people who were not yet followers of Jesus. Philip also performed many miracles, cast out demons and healed the sick. And he would do this in every town he would go to. He would preach the Gospel of Christ, and his message would be confirmed through the miracles that he would perform through the power of the Holy Spirit. And we read in verse 8 that cities would rejoice because of the extraordinary things that this ordinary person did through the Holy Spirit. And like Philip, you and I, ordinary people who are devoted to Jesus Christ, are called to live extraordinary lives through the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. And like Philip, God calls us to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the people whom he so desperately loves. And like Philip, we are to cast out demons and heal the sick. And Philip was doing only what Jesus told him and all of us to do, which we read in Mark 16:15-18:

Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.

This is a command that Jesus gives to every one of his followers. Not just the leaders. Not just the pastors. Not just those who are gifted in evangelism and healing. But everyone, ordinary people like you and me, who claim to be a followers of Jesus, have a mandate from him to live extraordinary lives through the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. We have been given a message that we must share with the world. We have been given the power to cast out demons and heal the sick. And we can only do these extraordinary things because of the Holy Spirit.

And anytime someone steps out to live this way, he or she will face great opposition because Satan doesn’t really like what happens when we do. It may not be to the point of persecution like these first Christians experienced, but there will always be opposition. It may be verbal opposition. It may be opposition of our own fears. It may be oppositions of the lies that we’ve bought into. Whatever it may be, there will be opposition. We see in chapter 8 that even Philip experiences opposition when he steps out to live an extraordinary life empowered by the Holy Spirit for the glory of God.

Let’s read verses 9-25:

Acts 8:9-25
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. 14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19 and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20 Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin." 24 Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me." 25 When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

VERSES 9-25 (PHILIP AND SIMON THE SORCERER)
In verse 9, we are introduced to a man named Simon who is a sorcerer. And this is not the last time that the disciples are confronted by those who practice sorcery. In chapter 13, we see someone named Bar-Jesus who is a sorcerer. In chapter 16, we see a group of sorcerers file complaint against Paul and Barnabas. The society in which Philip finds himself in is one steeped in occult magic and sorcery. And many of these sorcerers had followers because they performed seemingly miraculous things that can not be explained in human terms. And in this society, a man named Simon was doing quite well for himself. His fame has spread throughout the whole region because of his ability to perform incredible magic. And it wasn’t enough that others thought of him as someone great, but the Bible tells us that he himself was proclaiming how great he was. He just couldn’t get over himself. And all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and basically worshiped him as if he were God.

But then Philip enters the story. An ordinary man living an extraordinary life through the Holy Spirit, and he does what he usually does. He proclaims the good news of Jesus and then begins to perform miracles to confirm the message that he is preaching. And many people put their faith in Jesus because of Philip. Even Simon, this sorcerer, believes the message and even gets baptized. The response to the message of Jesus is so great in this town that the leaders of the church send in the big shots, Peter and John, who are placing hands on people and immediately they are filled with the Holy Spirit. And when Simon sees this, he is so moved by what he sees that he offers them money so that he, too, can do what they are doing. But Peter scorns him saying, “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.”

This interaction between Peter and Simon is a little difficult for me to understand because I can see how one can desire the gifts of the spirit so much, that they would even offer money for it. You know what, I don’t know if I would have acted any differently than Philip if I were in his shoes, well except for the fact that I have no money to offer. The Bible itself teaches that we should eagerly desire spiritual gifts. So was what Simon doing really all that bad?

WHERE IS YOUR HEART?
But the thrust of this story is not in so much about the miracles and the spiritual gifts that are manifested when the Holy Spirit comes upon people. But it goes much deeper than that. The question being brought to light in this section is this, “where is your heart?” God isn’t concerned so much about how smart you are or how famous you are or how much you accomplish or how many people you healed or demons you cast out, or any of that. He is not impressed with any of that. Where is your heart? Another way to ask the same thing is this: “Who are you when no one is looking?” You can be a banker. You can be a lawyer. You can be a doctor. You can be a student. You can be a husband. You can be a wife. You can be all of that and more. But who are you really, when you are by yourself, when there is no reason to pretend to be this or that, when no one is looking? And if the veil of your private life was lifted, would we see two very different people? This is the radical transformation that Jesus is ushering in his Kingdom. Not outward expressions of redemption and salvation, but inward, in your very heart of hearts. God doesn’t merely want to change what you do, but he wants to change who you are.

Simon was chastised not because what he wanted was wrong but because the state of his heart was wrong. And we only know this because God seems to reveal this to Peter in a supernatural way. It was almost as if God allowed Peter to see through the veil, into his private life, into his heart, to who he really was. His heart was not right before God.

Church, we are to eagerly desire the spiritual gifts. Every one of us should be pursuing spiritual gifts because that is part of what it means to live extraordinary lives through the Holy Spirit. But let me ask all of you this today, “Is your heart right before God?” Who are you when no one is looking? What part of your life are you hiding from God and others? And if the veil of your private life was lifted, would we see two very different people? Maybe you have been a Christian for a long time but have been hiding a secret sin for many, many years. Or maybe you are not a Christian at all, but you recognize that you are powerless to change by yourself, that you recognize a need for a Savior who can transform you from the inside out. And if that is you, I want to give you and opportunity at the end of our service to get right with God and let him begin the deep work of transforming our hearts. The Bible says in 1 John 9, “If we confess our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Please let God come and minister to you this morning only as he can.

Let’s continue reading through the rest of the chapter, verses 26-40:

Acts 8:26-40
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth." 34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

VERSES 26-40 (PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN)
We now come to my favorite part of this chapter, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian. At the heart of this story is the idea of divine appointments, situations and circumstances that are somehow orchestrated by the very hand of God. It is the idea that God, the creator of the universe, would set in motion specific events to save, to rescue, to redeem his people back to himself. He creates circumstances in our lives so that we can know and understand that there is more to life than our jobs, our careers, our money, our homes, our family, our story. That there is a greater story unfolding right before our eyes, and God, in his great mercy, sets up divine appointments so that we can see how our story fits into the greatest story of all, the story of God.

We see in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian that an angel sent from the Lord speaks to Philip and directs him to a certain road. And then the Spirit of God, having gotten Philip on the right road, directs Philip to the right chariot. And as he is standing by this chariot Philip hears the Ethiopian reading from the word of God a prophecy written hundreds of years before the time of Jesus. The man has been drawn to ask questions by the Holy Spirit. He is being drawn to God. God brings the Ethiopian man someone who could explain the Bible to him.

Do you see the hand of God at work? In this passage, we are given a behind the scenes peak into the story. We not only see what is happening, but we see why they are happening as well. A set of events and circumstances that seems merely incidental to the naked eye, proved to be anything but. And as we peak behind the scene, we realize that there was another character in the story who was not merely in the story but is at the same time, writing it. Divine appointments.

DIVINE APPOINTMENTS
Have you had a divine appointment lately? Can you remember the last time when you saw the divine hand of God at work in your life? Actually, I would say that, if you are a Christian here this morning, your coming to faith in Jesus Christ happened through a series of divine appointments. You did not become a Christian by yourself. You did not desire to become a Christian by yourself. You did not pray the sinner’s prayer by yourself? Your faith in Christ is a direct result of divine appointments.

But here is the thing that we get stuck on. We can readily acknowledge that God brought us to faith, but when we start talking about evangelism, sharing our Christian faith with our family, friends, and neighbors, we somehow think that their salvation rests squarely on our shoulders, as if we can save anybody, as if we can raise the dead, as if we can heal the sick and the blind, as if we can change hearts and minds. We can’t. We can’t. We can’t argue someone into becoming a Christian! We can’t. We can’t convince someone into becoming a Christian. We can’t. We can’t force anyone into becoming a Christian. That is a realm that mankind simply can not engage. That’s because it is divine. And that’s why I believe that salvation is the greatest miracle of all. I believe in divine healing. I believe in speaking in tongues. I believe in prophecy. But the greatest miracle of all is when a person believes in his heart of hearts that there is a God and that his name is Jesus, and his heart resonates with the words of Paul in Philippians 3 which says, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

But as we think about sharing our faith, we become so full of fear and doubt because we really think it is up to us. We’ve misunderstood our role in evangelism. We’ve misunderstood the part that we are to play in helping someone come into faith. And so many of us, most of us, will never move forward in sharing our faith with others, as Jesus commands us to do so. We burn out. We get tired. We’re so worried about exactly what we should say, or how we should say it, and this and that, and we forget that God is the miracle worker.

Take even my sermon this morning for example. I spent a lot of time these last two weeks to study and prepare for what I am sharing with you right now. But here is the thing that I must come back to over and over again every time I preach. No matter how much time I spend in preparation, no matter how good my sermons may be, ultimately only God can change hearts. Only God can cause anything I say to birth something new in your life. And that gives me tremendous freedom in my preparation. It doesn’t mean that I get to goof off all week. No, I have a God-given responsibility to study and prepare and do the best job that I can to teach and preach. But I find peace and rest knowing that ultimately it is God who will do the extraordinary things through my ordinary life for his glory.

Divine appointments. God is the miracle worker. Not us. It is by the divine hand of God that you came into faith. And that is also how your family, friends, and neighbors will come into faith. And it is the desire of God that all should come to faith, that none should perish, not even one. And this loving heart of God is so evident in this passage. God seeks out this Ethiopian. He pursues him. He sends in one of his servants through a set of miraculous circumstances so that this man, too, would know how much he is loved by God.

Philip hears the voice of God and simply obeys. Even though he may not have understood it all, even though he may have doubted that this truly was the voice of God, he still steps out in faith and simply obeys. Philip is an ordinary man living an extraordinary life through the Holy Spirit. And it all started because Philip was a man who made himself available to God. Ordinary people living extraordinary lives begins as you make yourself available to the Holy Spirit.

The Hyde Park Vineyard Church is full of very gifted and talented people, people with great skills and abilities. Our church is really blessed in this way. But fundamentally, the only ability that God is really looking for is availability. People who go before God and say, “Yes, Lord, I am here to do your will.” The available Christian is a person who at the front end of the day says, “God, I give you the liberty to interrupt me. I yield control over to you.” So how do you do this? Well, I believe that it starts with prayer. One of my favorite pastors, Rich Nathan, teaches it this way. You start every morning with four prayers, four simple prayers. Please write this down somewhere and try putting them into this into practice this week.

FOUR PRAYERS BY RICH NATHAN
The first prayer is “God kill me.” Kill me. Because the obstacle to being available to God is our own wills and our own agendas. God kill me. I yield to you.

Then the second prayer is “God use me.” Today, God I want to be an instrument in your Kingdom in loving the people around me. I want to be useful to you wherever you want me to be. God, use me.

The third prayer is “God fill me.” Because, frankly, we have no effectiveness unless we are full of God, the Holy Spirit. We can't do anything unless we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. God fill me.

And fourth, “God lead me.” God, do in me what you did in Philip. Lead me.

The available Christian says to God, God kill me. Use me God. Fill me God and lead me, God.

And as you step out in faith to obey the voice of God, the question that many of us get hung upon is this, “How do you really know it is God?” Well, there really isn’t an easy way to know. And unless we are willing to take risks in this business of following the leading of God, we will never know. All of us our going to make mistakes hearing from God. All of us. But the more we step out in faith to take risks, the better we will become at discerning the voice of God. So will you give it a try? Will you step out and listen to the voice of God? Will you pray the four prayers as you begin your day?

If you could remember just one thing from today, please take this with you: “We are ordinary people who are called to live extraordinary lives through the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. And it all starts as we make ourselves available to him.” The ordinary becomes the extraordinary when God enters the story. Let’s all stand and pray together.

[A Teaching at InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at University of Illinois at Chicago, Ilinois]

Good evening! My name is Insoo Kim and I am the assistant pastor at the Hyde Park Vineyard Church where I have been serving for almost 3 years now. My lovely wife, Angela, and our very loud son, Elliot, are here with me tonight. Please forgive Elliot if he makes a lot of noise during tonight. I am really honored and excited to be here today. So thank you for having me.

I don’t know most of you in this room. I don’t know where you are in your spiritual journey. I don’t know why you are here tonight. I don’t know if you are a follower of Jesus or someone who has been actively running away from God. I don’t know your stories. I don’t what is causing you to worry and be anxious tonight. I don’t know much about you at all. But here is what I do know. I know that God loves each and every one of you unconditionally, no matter what you may have done. I know that God is with us right now as we gather to worship him and study his Word. I know that God answers prayers. And so I have been praying for our time tonight for a few weeks now. I have been praying for you. I have been praying that God will stir your heart tonight with a love for Jesus like you’ve never known before. I have been praying for those of you in this room who are not Christians. I have been praying that God will speak to you tonight. That you would know in your heart of hearts that Jesus loves you and that he died for you, and that if you would simply put your faith in him, that the emptiness you feel inside will be replaced by something so powerful and beautiful. I have been praying for those of you who have been struggling in your Christian faith. Maybe you’ve grown tired and weary. Maybe you are on the brink of giving up. I have been praying that God will give you the strength and courage you need to keep trusting him, to keep hoping in him. I know God answers prayers. And so before we continue, let’s take a minute to pray. And if you don’t know how to pray, you can simply close your eyes and ask God to speak to you and then just sit in silence and wait. Let’s pray.

Every year, in April, all the Jewish families gather together to celebrate the most sacred of holidays. In Hebrew, the name of this holiday is called “Pesach” which in English means, “Passover.” It is a holiday that commemorates the story that we will be reading about in today’s passage from the book of Exodus. For this most special of occasions, they go all out. The best silverware and china are set. Only the finest of ingredients are used for the meal, which is called the “Seder.” During this meal, the eldest person on the table will retell the story of the Exodus from a special text called the “Haggadah.” And after the retelling of this story, there is a tradition where the youngest child will be asked four questions about the Exodus which are supposed to help this child understand the significance of this very special day. The scholars believe that the book of Exodus was written around 1450-1400BC, meaning that for some 3400 years, the Jews have been celebrating the Passover. That is how important the story of Exodus is to the Jewish people. And so the great story of the Exodus is told over and over again, year after year, one generation to the next, the story of how this God, the Great I Am, redeemed his people.

In a way, as we are retelling and learning the story of Exodus tonight, we are in essence celebrating Pesach, the Passover. And some of you maybe wondering, “Hey, I thought this was a Christian group. What’s with all this Jewish stuff? Insoo, you don’t look Jewish. What’s going on here?” Well, relax. The story of Exodus and the Passover has everything to do with Christianity. And if you can sit through my boring sermon for the next 15 minutes or so, I will get to this part at the very end.

Please take out your Bible. We are going to read through the passage from Exodus, chapter 11 through verse 30 of chapter 12. So, please take out your Bible because we are all going to take part in the reading of the passage. We’ll just go one person to the next and each of you can read about 3 or 4 verses each. If you don’t have a Bible, please share with someone next to you.

Let me give you a very quick synopsis of what has happened up to this point in the story of Exodus. We are in the middle of the story of Exodus where Moses has been commanded by God to approach the Pharaoh and command him to let his people go. Again and again, the Pharaoh refuses, so God begins to send various plagues. There have been 9 so far and what we will study tonight is the 10th and final of these plagues. And after this final plague, we will read about the Passover.

So, let’s read. And when it is your turn to read, please read loud so that everyone in the room can hear you. Okay. Let’s start.

Exodus 11:1-12:30
Now the LORD had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely. 2 Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold." 3 (The LORD made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people.) 4 So Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. 5 Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. 6 There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. 7 But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.' Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. 8 All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, 'Go, you and all the people who follow you!' After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh. 9 The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt." 10 Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country. 12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 "This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or cooked in water, but roast it over the fire—head, legs and inner parts. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the LORD's Passover. 12 "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. 14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD -a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat—that is all you may do. 17 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And whoever eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel, whether he is an alien or native-born. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread." 21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. 22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. 23 When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down. 24 "Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants. 25 When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony. 26 And when your children ask you, 'What does this ceremony mean to you?' 27 then tell them, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.' "Then the people bowed down and worshiped. 28 The Israelites did just what the LORD commanded Moses and Aaron. 29 At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of all the livestock as well. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead.

It is not an easy passage to swallow is it? And I don’t believe it was meant to be easy to understand. Why would God kill the firstborn sons? That just doesn’t seem like something that a good and kind God would do? Can this God of the Exodus be trusted? Can he be worshiped? These are all questions that most of us have struggled with at least one point in our lives aren’t they? Hasn’t there been a time in your life when things happened and you just could not see God in the story? Just read a newspaper or watch the news on TV. This world is full of stories where it is difficult to see God. Just a few days ago, there was an off-duty police officer who killed 6 people. Here is how one newspaper recounted the story.

Tyler Peterson, a deputy of the Forest County Sheriff's Office and part-time officer with the Crandon Police Department, showed up shortly after 2:45 a.m. Sunday at the home of one-time girlfriend Jordanne Murray, 18, and began fighting with her and others who were gathered there. Infuriated, Peterson went out to retrieve an AR-15 rifle from his truck. He then forced himself back into the home where he fired 30 rounds. The victims and one survivor were all between the ages of 14 and 20.

The family of the perpetrator wrote an apology letter to the community. “We also feel a tremendous amount of guilt and shame for the horrible acts Tyler committed. We are struggling to respond, like most of you. We don’t know what we should do. There is nothing that happened before or after yesterday’s events that has given us any insight into why.”

Where is God in this story? Where is God in Columbine? Where is God in Virginia Tech? Why would God kill the firstborn sons of Egypt? These are very real and difficult questions. And for some of you in this room, these questions are also very personal. I do not have an easy answer for you. I have many questions like many of you do. But let me attempt to at least shed a little bit of light on this subject.

We understand all of the plagues in light of the Passover. In the midst of the plagues and the judgment of God, we can easily miss his grace and mercy. Over and over again, the Pharaoh is given the opportunity to obey, yet he refuses every time. Over and over again, God extends his mercy and forgiveness to the people of Egypt, yet they refuse every time. The whole issue of the Passover is about what God is able to do to his enemies and what he will do for the people that choose him. We are supposed to see the great power, his greatness, his grandness, even the destructive power of God. It is supposed to cause us to stand in awe of all that he is able to do, though we may not necessarily understand it. But as we study the story of the Passover, we see a God who protects, who guards, and who desperately loves his people. We read in 12:23, "When the LORD goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down." The Lord himself will block the entry of the destroyer. He will be a protective covering for His people. Their security is His presence. He is the one who saves. He is the one who preserves. He is the one who redeems. He is a good God. He is a good God.

The prophet Isaiah writes in Isaiah 31:5:

Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it, he will 'pass over' it and will rescue it.

The Hebrew word for “pass over” in this verse is the same as the Hebrew word we read in the passage in Exodus. Our God is our shield and our deliverer! He is our salvation. He is our redeemer.

And so we come to the long awaited part in the teaching. What does this story, this very Jewish story, have to do with my Christian faith? Well, please turn in your Bible to 1 Corinthians 5:7. Here is what it reads:

Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

In this passage, Paul is alluding directly to the story of the Exodus where a lamb was sacrificed to redeem the people of Israel, and he tells us that Jesus Christ is The Passover lamb. Jesus Christ was sacrificed to redeem his people. We also read in 1 Peter 1:18-19:

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

Jesus Christ is the Lamb. He is the Perfect Lamb. Jesus is to us the perfect Passover lamb. The prison of slavery in Egypt for the Jews is now for us the kingdom of darkness. And the captives of Egypt is not just Israel, but is now for us the whole world. And the redemption that we see in Exodus is not merely a geographical change, but is now for us a spiritual and eternal one. This is the Gospel message. This is the foundation of the Christian faith.

Here is what one of my favorite pastors, Rich Nathan, says about this passage:

Going back to the story of Exodus, the only difference, and this is really an important point, the only difference between those who lost their firstborn that night and those who didn't, the only difference between those houses that were visited by the angel of death and those that the angel of death passed over was that one house that was marked with the blood of the lamb on its door posts and the other house had no blood on it. God didn't draw a distinction between one house being the house of a Jew and the other being a house of an Egyptian. Jewish homes without blood would have received the visit of the angel of death.

And this is a principle that runs throughout the scriptures. This is where this Jewish story intersects our Christian faith. What saves a person from the judgment of God is when God sees the blood of the lamb over your life. When God sees the blood of Messiah Jesus, the Lamb of God, applied to your life by faith, then you are saved. Then you are safe, secure and protected from judgment. He looks at your life and he is looking to see the mark of the blood on your life.

And the blood must be applied by using a bunch of plants called hyssop. Again, it is not enough to slaughter the lamb. Each family must personally apply the blood to their own homes and to their own lives. I would simply make the point that it is the same thing with the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus our Messiah. There are many, many people who know that Jesus the Messiah died on a cross. There are lots of people who have been taught that Jesus the Messiah died on a cross for sins. But they never have had His blood sprinkled on their lives. Our faith is like that hyssop plant. It takes the blood of Jesus and applies it to us and to our own sins. It is not being acquainted with the facts of Jesus' death that saves us. It is applying the blood of that death to your life by faith.

There is a story called "The Ragman" written by Walter Wangerin which I believe beautifully illustrates the heart of God. So, I would like to read it for you now. It is a little bit long, so please bear with me. Please let it speak to you tonight.

THE RAGMAN STORY (by Walter Wangerin, Jr.)
I saw a strange sight. I stumbled upon a story most strange, like nothing my life, my street sense, my sly tongue had ever prepared me for. Hush, child. Hush, now, and I will tell it to you.

Even before the dawn one Friday morning I noticed a young man, handsome and strong, walking the alleys of our City. He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes both bright and new, and he was calling in a clear, tenor voice: "Rags!" Ah, the air was foul and the first light filthy to be crossed by such sweet music.

"Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!"

"Now, this is a wonder," I thought to myself, for the man stood six-feet-four, and his arms were like tree limbs, hard and muscular, and his eyes flashed intelligence. Could he find no better job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city?

I followed him. My curiosity drove me. And I wasn't disappointed.

Soon the Ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch. She was sobbing into a handkerchief, sighing, and shedding a thousand tears. Her knees and elbows made a sad X. Her shoulders shook. Her heart was breaking.

The Ragman stopped his cart. Quietly, he walked to the woman, stepping round tin cans, dead toys, and Pampers.

"Give me your rag," he said so gently, "and I'll give you another."

He slipped the handkerchief from her eyes. She looked up, and he laid across her palm a linen cloth so clean and new that it shined. She blinked from the gift to the giver.

Then, as he began to pull his cart again, the Ragman did a strange thing: he put her stained handkerchief to his own face; and then HE began to weep, to sob as grievously as she had done, his shoulders shaking. Yet she was left without a tear.

"This IS a wonder," I breathed to myself, and I followed the sobbing Ragman like a child who cannot turn away from mystery.

"Rags! Rags! New rags for old!"

In a little while, when the sky showed grey behind the rooftops and I could see the shredded curtains hanging out black windows, the Ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a bandage, whose eyes were empty. Blood soaked her bandage. A single line of blood ran down her cheek.

Now the tall Ragman looked upon this child with pity, and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart. "Give me your rag," he said, tracing his own line on her cheek, "and I'll give you mine."

The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage, removed it, and tied it to his own head. The bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped at what I saw: for with the bandage went the wound! Against his brow it ran a darker, more substantial blood - his own!

"Rags! Rags! I take old rags!" cried the sobbing, bleeding, strong, intelligent Ragman.

The sun hurt both the sky, now, and my eyes; the Ragman seemed more and more to hurry.

"Are you going to work?" he asked a man who leaned against a telephone pole. The man shook his head.

The Ragman pressed him: "Do you have a job?"

"Are you crazy?" sneered the other. He pulled away from the pole, revealing the right sleeve of his jacket - flat, the cuff stuffed into the pocket. He had no arm.

"So," said the Ragman. "Give me your jacket, and I'll give you mine." Such quiet authority in his voice!

The one-armed man took off his jacket. So did the Ragman - and I trembled at what I saw: for the Ragman's arm stayed in its sleeve, and when the other put it on he had two good arms, thick as tree limbs; but the Ragman had only one.

"Go to work," he said.

After that he found a drunk, lying unconscious beneath an army blanket, an old man, hunched, wizened, and sick. He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself, but for the drunk he left new clothes.

And now I had to run to keep up with the Ragman. Though he was weeping uncontrollably, and bleeding freely at the forehead, pulling his cart with one arm, stumbling for drunkenness, falling again and again, exhausted, old, old, and sick, yet he went with terrible speed. On spider's legs he skittered through the alleys of the City, this mile and the next, until he came to its limits, and then he rushed beyond.

I wept to see the change in this man. I hurt to see his sorrow. And yet I needed to see where he was going in such haste, perhaps to know what drove him so.
The little old Ragman - he came to a landfill. He came to the garbage pits. And then I wanted to help him in what he did, but I hung back, hiding. He climbed a hill. With tormented labor he cleared a little space on that hill. Then he sighed. He lay down. He pillowed his head on a handkerchief and a jacket. He covered his bones with an army blanket. And he died.

Oh, how I cried to witness that death! I slumped in a junked car and wailed and mourned as one who has no hope - because I had come to love the Ragman. Every other face had faded in the wonder of this man, and I cherished him; but he died. I sobbed myself to sleep.

I did not know - how could I know? - that I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night, too. But then, on Sunday morning, I was wakened by a violence.
Light - pure, hard, demanding light - slammed against my sour face, and I blinked, and I looked, and I saw the last and the first wonder of all. There was the Ragman, folding the blanket most carefully, a scar on his forehead, but alive! And, besides that, healthy! There was no sign of sorrow nor of age, and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness.

Well, then I lowered my head and trembling for all that I had seen, I myself walked up to the Ragman. I told him my name with shame, for I was a sorry figure next to him. Then I took off all my clothes in that place, and I said to him with dear yearning in my voice: "Dress me."
He dressed me. My Lord, he put new rags on me, and I am a wonder beside him. The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!

Jesus is our Ragman. Jesus is our shield. Jesus is our Passover lamb. Jesus is our redeemer. I believe that there are many of you here today who are in desperate need of the Ragman to come into your life. But you feel ashamed. You don’t think you’re worthy. But, here is the good news. The God of the Exodus, the Great I Am, knows you intimately. He knows it all and he still loves you. Jesus died for every one of your sins. And the only thing that God demands of you is that you would simply and humbly surrender your life to Jesus, to paint the doorposts of your heart with the blood of Jesus, to receive Jesus as your Passover lamb.

The story of the Exodus and the Passover is the story of redemption, it is the story of a God who so desperately loves his people that he will go through great lengths to call his people back to himself. In a moment, I’m going to ask everyone to bow your heads and pray. And in this time of prayer, I am going to give all of you an opportunity to respond to God tonight. I’m going to give you an opportunity to let God just shower you with his love. I’m going to give you an opportunity to paint the doorpost of your heart with the blood of Jesus. To trade in your old rags for new ones. And it is not difficult to do at all. Really. All it takes is a simple prayer that I will pray with you. And I believe that if you will take this step of faith today to surrender your life to Jesus, your sins will be completely forgiven and that your life will never ever be the same again. God will bless you with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control, and so much more. But as I shared earlier, it is not enough to merely know and understand the story of Exodus and the Passover, this story of a redemptive God, this story of Jesus, the ultimate Passover lamb. But you must take that step of faith to receive this free gift. And I want to help some of you do that tonight. So let’s all close our eyes and bow our heads in prayer.